


New Wounds, Old Scars

by Rainbow_Whale_Shark



Series: Hyrule Vacation [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Burns, Coping, Depression, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Repressed Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 21:49:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20181271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_Whale_Shark/pseuds/Rainbow_Whale_Shark
Summary: A close encounter with a rogue guardian revives memories Link just wants to forget.





	New Wounds, Old Scars

**Author's Note:**

> You thought this series was just going to be fluffy smut? Me too, but then I got this idea. The characters listed are mentioned, not actually written, but mobile won't let me tag that.

"Impossible…" The word barely escapes Link's lips before he's drawing his sword, running full speed towards you. You don't notice until it's too late; a roaming guardian stalker is locked onto you and you have nowhere to go. 

You're paralyzed, only listening to the beeping of its laser and knowing that this will probably be your untimely end. Before you can reflect on your life, you're tackled to the ground by Link, and the laser goes off. He groans, quickly standing up to face the guardian as it targets him instead.

You look at his back, noticing that his shirt is torn and his skin is angry red. Link doesn't seem to feel it for the moment as he attacks the rogue machination with expert precision, taking out one leg at a time. A few hits to the main body has it shuddering in place, it's head spinning wildly. With a final hit, Link leaps away from it, and it explodes into a mess of parts. 

"Are you alright?" Link rushes to your side, helping you back onto your feet. "You're not hurt, are you?" You shake your head, and he lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. 

"Your back…" The skin on his back is definitely blistered, red and glistening, but he continues to ignore it. 

"I'm fine," Link starts walking you back to the nearest stable, going much faster than normal. "Don't worry about me." How could you not worry when he's being so unlike himself? You tentatively follow behind, trying not to look at the burn on his back. 

It's hard seeing him like this, especially since he was so happy to go foraging in Akkala Highlands with you. You didn't think there were still hostile guardians roaming after Calamity Ganon's defeat, but clearly, you were wrong. 

"We'll go back to Tarrey Town, I have a house there." Link's voice was lower than normal as he signed his horse out of the stable. He lets you get on first then hops up himself to guide the horse. 

You ride in silence, the severity of Link's burn glaringly obvious to you. 

"At least let me patch you up." He allows it, as the horse knows the route and the road is a safe one. You've gotten used to making poultices and other remedies on the go, but this burn was worse than anything you've ever tried to mend. You try, anyway, making a simple painkiller out of the herbs in the saddlebag. 

Link cringes as you start to apply it, but doesn't say anything and lets you finish. You hope that the redness and swelling goes down soon, but common sense reminds you that it'll get much worse before it gets better. 

Tarrey Town is beautiful, and the air is fresh, but it's almost like there's a cloud hanging over you two as you enter. You go straight to Link's house, and as he ties up the horse, you can see his hands shaking.

When you're inside, the first thing you do is sit him down and remove his tattered shirt so you can treat his wound properly. Link doesn't look at you the entire time as you pour cold water over the burn. You soak bandages in antiseptic and wrap them around his back as gently as you can. 

"I'm…fine." Link protests as you help him over to the bed, but you're not having it. 

"I'll cook dinner, alright?" He's too exhausted to fight your decision, meekly nodding. "It won't taste as good, but you need to rest." Another nod, and you're out the door, bringing in whatever ingredients you managed to salvage. 

You don't have much, but you manage to cobble together some steamed meat, which doesn't take too long. Upon returning, you find Link in the same position as before, looking twice as miserable. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Link shakes his head and you hand him the food. Your meals are normally shared in comfortable silence, save for the occasional compliment about the food, but the air hangs heavy now, and there's nothing you can do. 

The rest of the night passes equally as uncomfortable, with Link dozing off early and you staying up to read. You wonder if he'll will feel any better at all tomorrow. 

\--

You feel something kick your leg, waking you from your sleep. It's not unusual for Link to kick and shift around in his sleep, but tonight is different; he's muttering something. 

"Not..not again…please," He sounds terribly distressed, and you reach over to touch his shoulder. 

You weren't expecting him to sit almost straight up, gasping for air as if he were drowning. You leave your hand on his shoulder in an attempt to ground him. 

"You were just dreaming, you're okay now." Link doesn't reply for a while, breathing heavily and looking down. 

"It felt so real," He grips the blankets so tightly that his knuckles go white. "I saw them again…and I couldn't save them, again. Just like I almost couldn't save you."

Link takes a shuddering sigh, and for the first time, the hero of Hyrule looks vulnerable. You let him talk, occasionally stroking his shoulder or hair to try to comfort him. 

"If I was just stronger, I could've ended this a hundred years ago, but it took all of them dying for me to...defeat the Calamity, " Link wraps his arms around himself, clearly trembling. "Revali, Daruk, Urbosa…Mipha." His voice breaks at Mipha's name and he doesn't say anything else.

"You did everything you could, back then. The other champions, they knew what they signed up for, just like you," Link meets your eyes looking utterly broken. "If Paya and Princess Zelda hadn't placed you in the Shrine of Resurrection, you would've died too."

"I couldn't even keep the Princess safe…" Memories of guardians surrounding him and Zelda flashed through his head; the sheer number of them, the pain from his wounds, the way he ended up laying in Zelda's lap, useless and on the verge of death. 

"You did, even if you don't think so. You're the only reason she could have unlocked the power to seal away the darkness," You take both of Link's hands in yours, "If you didn't exist, neither would this world." 

"That's…solid logic. Part of me wants to believe you, but another part just feels guilty," Link leans forward, resting his head on your chest, "Seeing that guardian and watching you almost get killed by it stirred everything up, I guess."

You kiss the top of his head, running your fingers through his soft hair. 

"You're allowed to have feelings, you know. You don't have to pretend you're doing fine when you're not." 

"I'm sorry…" Link's whispering, and by the way he shakes, it's obvious that he's crying. "I can't be strong anymore."

"You have a strong heart, and you'll always have that. You're the strongest hero in my eyes." 

You and Link stay like that for a long time, and eventually his breathing evens out. There's nothing more to say to each other, and you pull him close as you lay back down. He's kept you safe from all kinds of dangers out in the wild-- it's your turn to keep him safe, but from his own mind of all things.


End file.
